Lake It? We Love It. Sanborn Canoe Co.'s Custom Paddles

Finding, curating, and selling quality goods, while educating guys on what it is they’re actually buying, is Bureau of Trade’s mission and one they do quite well. Each week the site is bringing GQ readers thoughtfully selected items for all of life’s needs. Up today: the most stylish canoe paddles you’ll never use

Using a Sanborn canoe paddle on the water requires a particular sort of strength. Not upper body, but inner. It’s the strength you need to overcome the guilt you feel about dipping something so beautiful into water that isn’t filtered and, ideally, blessed by a priest. To say that these are the most beautiful canoe paddles we’ve ever seen is, in a certain sense, an insult: these are among the most beautiful objects we’ve ever seen. In any category. Period.

Sanborn starts with a story about friends from Winona, Minnesota, a charming town just a little too close to Wisconsin for comfort. These friends sublimated their love of life on the water into a garage hobby making canoes and paddles. People noticed. The hobby became a business. And now, with prime camping season approaching, the business is poised to take off.

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Sanborn paddles are crafted from of ash, cherry and western red and white cedar, finished for durability; available in sizes, weights, and shaft styles for every manner of canoe-er, and custom painted for those who want a splash of color. Use them on the water, or mount them on the wall. Just do us right: keep them out of the frat house (no initiation ceremonies) and the classroom (corporal punishment is still legal in 29 states). Portage your way here to purchase our favorites. - Micah Fitzerman-Blue

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